The Power Of Power In Messenger By Lois Lowry's Messenger

Power- (1) Possession of control, authority, or influence over others (2) Ability to act or produce an effect (3) Physical might, mental or moral efficacy (4) legal or official authority, capacity, or right -Merriam Webster Dictionary. In the book Messenger by Lois Lowry, readers are exposed to a world where some individuals possess superhuman abilities and some who share the same power in a different form. For example, in the book, Matty has the power to heal, which is a phenomenon that is uncommon. There are people like Seer who are average, but are very wise. Power is control, authority, and strength, but in the real world similar to the book’s world, there is always good or bad use of it. Control can be used for good to help others, however,

“He wasn’t surprised. After the thorny branches had shredded her dress, they had reached for her legs as night fell, and now he could see that she was terribly lacerated. The wounds were deep, and he could see exposed muscles and tendons glisten yellow and pink in a devastating kind of beauty where the ragged flesh gaped open.”(147) Control is powerful because it gives the user access to everything; such power that can help people by supplying them with things they need but do not have. Control can also hurt people by disorganizing a set system, such as if Matty had used his gift before the correct time and disobeyed Leader, he would have caused disorder. “He remembered that in the art books he had leafed through at Leader's, many paintings depicted death. A severed head on a platter. A battle, and the ground strewn with bodies. Swords and spears and fire; and nails being pounded into the tender flesh of a man's hands. Painters had preserved such pain through beauty.” (152) Furthermore, when control is used as a weapon or a tool for personal use, it becomes dangerous because it can harm others or something else and command them, like Trademaster. In the real world, power is given to people who control the law. Accordingly, control is power and is a great tool to help others, notwithstanding a destructive weapon that can

Control can be used for commanding others for any favorable reason, however, it can be harmful when it is used negatively by causing struggle and corrupting a society, in reality, the people who have the most control are the governments. On the other hand, authority can have a positive effect on people when it is used to maintain balance, however, it can be used to disorganized one, in actuality authority is given to the police or the people who control the law to keep the justice and to keep the peace. Finally, Strength relates to power and can have a good effect on people when it is used to benefit good people and solve problems, however it still could be used for bad like if it is used to harm or cause damage to something or someone. Power is control, authority, and strength, but how they are used determines if that power is good or